Snow Sports News: 2022 State Snow Sport Championships – Perisher
For those of you who think that sport at Trinity is limited to one choice in summer and one choice in winter, you need to think again. There are opportunities to do more, to take on new challenges and to have a heap of fun at the same time. Snow Sports is one such activity that some of our boys get involved in. And, having spent the past week at Perisher for the State Championships with nine of our students, I can’t believe that more boys haven’t given it a go. There are events for students of all levels, so you don’t have to be super star to get involved. Having said that, at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, 30 of Australia’s competitors started their competition days at Interschools Snow Sport Championships. So, who knows where this opportunity might lead? Our team of nine was made up of three boys from the Preparatory School, three from the Junior School and three from the Middle School.
Day 1
Monday was a busy day for our team. Rory F (9Fo) and Tom H (9We) got us underway with some slick moves in the Slopestyle events. Rory’s technical skills on the skis and Tom’s big airs on the snowboard provided great entertainment for the enthusiastic crowd. Rory finished 15th and Tom 23rd. Devon Y (4Ar) then took on the Alpine event in horrendous conditions, with winds gusting to 70km/h. It didn’t seem to bother him though as he flew down the mountain at a crazy speed, finishing in 31st position out of 139 competitors. And, not to be outdone, our Cross-Country boys took the opportunity to enter the Amelia McGuiness XC event that runs parallel to the State Championships and offers the boys some great race practise in the lead up to their main events on Wednesday. And our results were outstanding! Darren C (5Fo) collected the silver medal in his division, with Jason L (6Fo) taking out the bronze. And Jason’s younger brother, Jonathan L (3Fo), also had a fantastic day, taking third place in his division.
Day 2
Tuesday saw Devon back in action in the Ski Cross event. This involves a steep decent through some very technical turns. Devon was lucky to have Sam R (8WJ) come to his event to take him through the course and offer him some advice between runs. And it worked, as Devon went significantly quicker in his second run, finishing a very respectable 50th in the state.
Day 3
Wednesday was a massive day with Cross Country being the discipline of choice. This is a gruelling event where athletes trek up and down hills and along flat sections of snow using various techniques. Primary boys’ races are more than 2km long and the boys are exhausted when they cross the finish line. We had 5 primary school students representing Trinity from both Prep and Junior Schools and they pulled together for some fantastic results. In fact, Trinity finished 4th overall in the Primary Schools Cross Country point score, which is an amazing achievement considering the relative resources that some of our brother and sister schools put into Snow Sports.
Darren C (5Fo) led the way finishing 18th in his division (years 5 and 6) of the XC Classic. Jason L (6Fo) finished 22nd in the same division and Andy X (5Hi) 28th. This event is also a team event where the boys’ times are added together, and our boys finished 5th overall which has qualified them to compete at the National Championships in two weeks’ time.
Jonathan L (3Fo) and Joey Z (4Sc) did a phenomenal job in their division (years 3 and 4) finishing 15th and 16th respectively which also earned them an invitation to compete at the Nationals. What a great achievement!
Day 4
Thursday saw Sam R (8WJ) make his debut for Trinity at the State Championships. Sam’s first event was the Ski Cross where the competition was hot. One tiny error could mean the difference in 20 or more positions. Sam finished in 4th position, less than half a second off the silver medal.
He then backed up in the Moguls event whereby students are timed over a short, steep, lumpy course and they are also given artistic points for their form and the difficulty of the jump that they perform at the end of the run. Sam’s first run was clean and put him in 5th position. Not happy with this he put everything into his second run, attempting a 720-degree twist, something no one else was able to do. Sam had landed this move in the warmup but, unfortunately he came unstuck in the official run, meaning that he was relegated to 8th position. Both performances will earn Sam invitations to compete at Nationals.
Day 5
The final day of competition saw our two most experienced athletes out on the snow for their last events. Rory competed in the Moguls where he put down two fantastic runs, with the highlight being the 360-degree spin that he landed for the first time in competition. This earned him 22nd position overall in a very classy field.
Sam then hit Front Valley in his favoured event, the Alpine. The relatively easy course brought lots of athletes into contention and Sam finished in 12th position. Whilst this was not the result that he was hoping for, he did still qualify for Nationals, where he has won gold on two previous occasions. The steeper course in that event will suit Sam, so hopefully he can return to the podium in a few weeks’ time.
Overall, it has been a fantastic week of competition and my respect for these athletes has grown immensely as I see the huge commitment that each boy and his family make to pursue their dreams on the snow.
The following boys have qualified to compete in the National Interschools Championships in two weeks’ time. We wish them all the best at this event.
Team Qualifiers:
- Darren C / Jason L / Andy X: Div 4 Cross Country Classic:
Individual qualifiers:
- Samuel R: Div 3 Alpine, Ski Cross, and Moguls
- Darren C: Div 4 XC Classic
- Jonathan L: Div 5 – XC Classic
- Joey Z: Div 5 – XC Classic
James Leckie
